The band members are 櫻井敦司 (Sakurai Atsushi) (vocals), 今井寿 (Imai Hisashi) (guitars, noises, electronics, vocals), 星野英彦 (Hoshino Hidehiko) (guitars, chorus), 桶口豊 (Higuchi Yutaka) (bass) and ヤガミ・トール (Yagami Toll) (drums).
BUCK-TICK's music has changed and evolved hugely over the course of their career. Their early work is what the Japanese call "positive punk". It used simple rhythms and chords, with the songs mostly in major keys and using some English words in the lyrics. Starting with 1989's TABOO, they experimented with a darker sound, which grew more mature with 狂った太陽 in 1991. darker than darkness style 93 delved into a harsher industrial rock sound which continued all the way up through Mona Lisa OVERDRIVE in 2003. With 2005's 十三階は月光, they deliberately adopted a "goth" concept, which they combined with a retro straight rock sound for the albums 天使のリボルバー (2007) and Memento Mori (2009). Their next album, 2010's RAZZLE DAZZLE, then incorporated many instances of dance-rock.
Some elements that persist throughout their music are resounding, jangling guitar chords, throbbing, prominent bass lines, harsh roars of electronically distorted noise, and ambivalent melodies that wander between major and minor keys, as well as Sakurai's distinctive rich baritone voice. Jrockrevolution described the band's style as having gone "from the bubbly sounds of pop to the buzz of electronic cyberpunk to lustful velvety goth to the smooth style of hard rock and back again". Sakurai, who is the main lyricist of the band, is famous for the erotic decadence of his lyrics, but he also often addresses existential psychological themes. His lyrics is also described as "dance in a daydream about reality". Imai, the main composer, has written many songs that read like science fiction stories, involving genetic engineering and computer hackers, but more recently has branched out into love songs.
As Josephine Yun describes them, in 'A Concise Report on 40 of the Biggest Rock Acts in Japan', "BUCK-TICK's music is smashed-together nuances of everything from Depeche Mode and New Order to U2 and The Knack. While wry, it can float and be nebulously melodic. [...] Masked in eye makeup, Atsushi looks and sounds possessed. BUCK-TICK was (and continues to be) and anomaly in the Japanese music scene, a tangle of goth rock diluted with synth and electronica. It's unhappy, dirty music, the musical equivalent of exploded soot and smoke."
BUCK-TICK and their members have performed with, for example, KMFDM, Soft Ballet, Luna Sea, Sheena Ringo, and The Yellow Monkey. The band members have also participated in different side-projects, such as Schaft, Schwein (Sakurai and Imai with Raymond Watts (PIG) and Sascha Konietzko (KMFDM)), and The Mortal.
Lion
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aa mou dame sa nan te nido to iwanaide
Ore wa ori no naka de abareru kemano no you sa
Kin'iro ni kagayaku kami kaze ni tada nabikaseta
Aa nante minikui machi da yume mo mienai ze
Mou sutete shimaeba ii sa kono kao mo koe mo
Aaa... dakarete....
Aaa... kie sou....
Coffee wo sosogu kimi makka na kuchibeni
Kuchizuke wo shite okure yo nanimo iwanaide
Mou sugu otozureru shi wa chikai saa onegai da
Aaa... dakarete....
Aaa... kie sou....
Dare wo aishita (dare wo nikunda) dare ni koishita (dare wo kegashita)�
Dare wo aishita (dare wo aishita) kono ore wa...
Saa subete moyase kono ore mo aa yasuraka ni...
Aaa... dakarete....
Aaa... kie sou....
Aa mou nanimo kamo ga kudaranaize
Kou natte kitaraya bai tsubusare sou sa
Tengoku e iku no sa koko yori wa mada mashitarou
Dare wo aishita (dare wo nikunda)
Dare wo aishita (dare nio koishita) kono ore wa...?
The song "Lion" by the Japanese band BUCK-TICK presents a sense of desperation and hopelessness in the face of a cold and grotesque world. The opening lines express a desire to not hear any more lies or false promises, to rage uncontrollably like a poisonous snake trapped in a cage, alluding to a sense of imprisonment and powerlessness. The golden hair streaming in the wind highlights the contrast between the singer's inner turmoil and the outside world. This is a world where even dreams seem hopeless and impossible, and where they should be abandoned altogether. The image of "sweet emptiness winding around the body" further emphasizes the singer's sense of despair and detachment.
The repeated lines of "dakarete" and "kie sou" convey a deep and desperate longing for connection, while simultaneously acknowledging the possibility that it might fade away or even never have existed in the first place. The singer seeks comfort from the kiss of the person they love, symbolized by the red lipstick, and begs them not to say anything. The line "mou sugu otozureru shi wa chikai" suggests the possibility of death, and the singer's hope that they can be held in their loved one's arms as they pass away. The repeated questioning of who they loved, who they hated, and who they hurt, alludes to a sense of guilt and regret over past actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Aa mou dame sa nan te nido to iwanaide
Ah, don't say I'm hopeless, not even once. I'm like a wild beast trapped in a cage.
Ore wa ori no naka de abareru kemano no you sa
I rage like a boiling cauldron within my confines.
Kin'iro ni kagayaku kami kaze ni tada nabikaseta
My golden hair fluttered in the wind as I stood there.
Aa nante minikui machi da yume mo mienai ze
This is a hideous city with no sight of my dreams.
Mou sutete shimaeba ii sa kono kao mo koe mo
It's better to throw away everything, including my appearance and voice.
Karadajuu ni karamitsuku amai kuukyo saa hiki chigire
Intoxicating emptiness entangles my whole body. Now, I'm tearing it apart.
Aaa... dakarete....
Ah, embrace me...
Aaa... kie sou....
Ah, I feel like disappearing...
Coffee wo sosogu kimi makka na kuchibeni Kuchizuke wo shite okure yo nanimo iwanaide
You pour some coffee with your bright red lipstick. You kiss me and say nothing.
Mou sugu otozureru shi wa chikai saa onegai da
Death is approaching soon. This is my wish.
Dare wo aishita (dare wo nikunda) dare ni koishita (dare wo kegashita) Dare wo aishita (dare wo aishita) kono ore wa...
Whom did I love? (Whom did I hate?) Whom did I long for? (Whom did I defile?) Whom did I love? (Whom did I love?) This is me...
Saa subete moyase kono ore mo aa yasuraka ni...
Now, let everything burn. I hope for a peaceful end.
Aa mou nanimo kamo ga kudaranaize Kou natte kitaraya bai tsubusare sou sa Tengoku e iku no sa koko yori wa mada mashitarou
Ah, nothing matters anymore. It seems I'm about to be crushed. I'll go to heaven, but I haven't swallowed everything here.
Contributed by Carson S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.